Needlework was an important part of a girls’ education and the School Sisters of Notre Dame often included needlework as part of their curriculum. Pictured here is a needlework class from St. Agnes School in St. Paul, Minnesota, circa the late 19th or early 20th century. Notice the wall, which is covered in various needlepoint projects. Click here for more...Read more

It is difficult to figure out what is happening in this photo of Sr. Marietta Bettels, until you read what is written on the back: “An experiment – with a yardstick – camera on windowsill.  Took this myself in my classroom in Seelas Hall, New Orleans.” Turns out, Sr. Marietta was attempting to take a selfie!...Read more

In 2010 the Archdiocese of Chicago opened the cause for canonization for Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first African-American priest in the United States. On June 11, 2019 Pope Francis issued a “Decree of Heroic Virtue,” thus advancing the cause of Fr. Tolton and granting him the title of “Venerable.”A lot has been written about Fr. Tolton’s life, including the fact...Read more

By: Michele Levandoski, Archivist, School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives The women’s suffrage movement began in the mid-19th century and for more than 70 years, American women lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied and practiced civil disobedience, including imprisonment, in an attempt to achieve the right to vote. By the early 20th century, many states had given women either full...Read more

Sister Zoe Krzysostan Historians and genealogists often work to recreate peoples’ lives based on information they find in various types of records. This can be difficult, however, when records for a particular person are few and far between. This is the case for Sister Zoe Krzysostan. Her personnel file provides dates of major events in her life, but it doesn’t...Read more

St. Joseph’s Orphanage, New York The School Sisters of Notre Dame operated St. Joseph’s Orphanage, located in Yorkville, a neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper East Side from 1859 until it closed in 1918. The sisters who worked at the orphanage went to great lengths to provide a clean, safe home for the children who lived there. Unfortunately, some things were beyond...Read more

St. Joseph’s orphanage, New York Construction has a way of uncovering historical gems that were thought to be lost. Recently, a parking lot was torn down in Yorkville, a neighborhood in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Hidden behind the structure was the eight-story neoclassical façade of the St. Joseph’s Orphanage chapel, which was built in 1898 (see links below for more...Read more

Many parts of the United States and Canada are currently in the grips of a polar vortex. This means people living in the affected areas are experiencing arctic temperatures and large amounts of snow. Since no one does cold weather better than Canadians, let’s “celebrate” the polar vortex with photos of students from Notre Dame Academy and candidates from Notre...Read more

The following excerpt taken from the chronicles of Villa Notre Dame (former motherhouse for Wilton Province) shows that the sisters in Wilton had a great sense of humor when dealing with an intrusive squirrel: “[December 1991, Provincial House] Of course, Richard (a maintenance worker) really dug them out of the wall after cutting a piece of the wall out. The sisters...Read more

Innermost By Sister Maura Eichner, SSND On the eve of hope, come, let us be silent as joy, certain as change, here before this Christmas tree. Tassels of wind hang secretly among berries and fruit and winter sun that warmed the boughs of this tree. Ghosts of butterflies delicately shadow a branch, melt like snow in the intimate dark of...Read more